Judge praises boy who shot mother's attacker

The State Coroner has today praised a 12-year-old boy for shooting dead a convicted criminal who was attacking his mother in their Coburg home.

Judge Ian Gray said the boy was defending his mother and had "acted bravely and for purely protective reasons" when he shot and killed Ayhan Ferman on May 22, 2010.

Judge Gray said the Office of Public Prosecutions had decided not to charge the boy, known only as SA, because he had shot Mr Ferman in self defence.

"It is clear that young SA acted in defence of his mother and for no other reason," the coroner said today in his findings into Mr Ferman's death.

"His mother was clearly the subject of a serious assault by Mr Ferman before young SA shot at him.

"SA, who is now 14, is entitled to be told that the court recognises that his action, in the heat of the moment, was quick thinking, brave and legally justified.

"He was defending himself, his mother and his [intellectually disabled] brother."

Judge Gray said he was satisfied SA acted in legitimate self-defence when he shot Mr Ferman.

"I am satisfied also that when shooting Mr Ferman he did not intend to kill him.

"I accept that he was in fact trying to aim lower on the body, as he said himself, 'trying to aim at his legs'."

When later told by police that Mr Ferman had died, SA became upset and said, "Has he got children? They will no longer have a father."

Judge Gray said Mr Ferman had left his wife at home in Port Melbourne and went to see SA's mother, known only as DT, at her Coburg home at 12.02am on May 22, 2010 after she had failed to return his calls.

Mr Ferman bashed on the front door and demanded to be let in before he started yelling at DT inside the house.

When DT told him she didn't have to put up with his abuse and that she should call the police, he said, "Do you know what I think about you?" and spat in her face.

"Mr Ferman then began hitting DT before grabbing her and throwing her at the sliding doors with such force that it dislodged one of the doors, which crashed into the lounge room," Judge Gray said.

"SA tried to pull Mr Ferman off his mother but Mr Ferman forced him aside and continued to assault DT. DT was on the ground crying and screaming while Mr Ferman was kicking her and calling her a bitch."

Judge Gray said that during this time, a gun Mr Ferman had been carrying dropped to the floor.

"SA saw this gun and grabbed it, he saw his mum on the ground screaming and thought Mr Ferman was going to kill her, so he pointed the firearm at him and tried to fire it.

"Initially the firearm did not discharge, so he 'pulled the thing at the top back' and then shot at Mr Ferman's hip area.

"Mr Ferman began shouting, 'You shot me, you shot me'. He then turned to DT and said, 'It's blood, your son shot me'... He then collapsed to the floor."

Judge Gray said while DT was ringing triple-0 for help an unknown male ran up and asked if Mr Ferman was all right.

The coroner said the man later cornered SA as he was running down the road trying to get help and wrestled the gun off the boy.

"SA was crying and screaming out, 'What are you going to do?.' The male told him, 'I'm not going to do anything.' SA then ran back to where his mum was in the house. The unknown male fled the area."

When police and ambulance officers arrived at 1am, Ferman was found dead lying on his back in the front hallway.

SA later told police: "He was hitting my mum and I heard my mum screaming and I tried to pull the thing just, like - I was aiming at his legs... I honestly didn't want to hurt him, but he was hurting my mum and I thought he was going to kill her."

Ayhan Ferman's son, Hizir, a Melbourne gangland figure, was jailed last year for more than six years on extortion with threats to kill charges.